All That Sparkles
by SpankingMyYoshi
Summary: A Pop Rock addict has an unfortunate reaction with a new flavor (that totally wasn't experimental). She wakes up in a strange place with even stranger people. Follow her as she tries to cope as a prison bitch .


The soft glow of sunrise peeking under the treeline, making the horizon appear to blush a soft peach. The cool morning air caresses her exposed creamy skin. she buttons her red wolf spirit hood and pockets her old iPod, making sure it's secure. 'So beautiful and breath taking.' Sweeping her gaze of the soft lit ground, she smiles. Sneaking another glance at the rising sun, she scoots off the thick low hanging oak branch. Landing from the 6 ft. drop in a slight crouch. She tucks a piece of turquoise hair behind her ear. Standing there, in total awe of the peaceful woods. 'Never gets old.'

'Why can't the rest of the day have this lighting and temperature? Skipping noon to four p.m. would be amazing. Oh wait I do!' She sticks her tongue out momentarily.

She pads almost silently back to the house after gazing in the distance for around 20 minutes. Relishing the dewy grass blades tickling her toes. 'Grass is so adorable, if only it weren't so itchy, I'd roll in it all day.' The house coming into view quickly, she speeds up her pace when her eyes land on Slobber.

A grin graces her face as she calls out happily to the large brindle mastiff, "Slobber!"

He perks his ears and bounds towards the woman. He slides to a halt in front of her, wriggling his large body, as his tail slaps his hind legs.

"Awe, good morning to you too! How's my Slobbersaurus Rex?" She coos and rubs both sides of his face. She drops her hands from his large face and jogs the rest of the way to the front porch. She swings open the thick wooden door and steps aside for Slobber to come inside. He shakes, thankfully not slinging water from his coat. She snorts and shakes her head smiling as she shut the door gently. She slips her hood and hangs it on one of the hooks on the back of the door.

An incoherent grumble greets her in the form of Kasey still clad in her pj's.

"Good morning my dear Kasey, coffee is made and awaiting to be poured." Amber sings as she dries her feet off on the plush green rug.

"Thanks." She mumbles and shuffles into the kitchen.

Amber runs up the stairs two at a time and makes a sharp turn right, halting at a door covered in graffiti. She shoves the door open, it bangs off the wall and knocks into her side as she tries to slide pass.

"Blarg." She chirps in amusement. The walls painted to resemble several galaxies and nebulae in distant space, also littered with posters of Master Chief. The ceiling a matte black, with small dots of random colors for stars. The carpet a deep shade of purple. She dives onto the soft mattress and wraps a fluffy blue comforter around herself. Her blue eyes close in utter bliss of in the cocoon of softness. The moment brief as she springs out of the bed and snatches a large, worn sketch book off the dark stained dresser in the corner of the room. It's faded leather cover showing age.

Tucking the book under her arm and hop onto the railing of the stairs and slide down. Her thigh connects painfully with the end piece thingy. Hissing as she drops to her, she glares at the object. Rubbing the area as she walks into the lime colored kitchen.

"How many times are you going to keep doing that?" Kasey asks in annoyance.

"Blarg." she answers, puffing out her cheeks as she places the book gently on the counter.

"Really?" Kasey rolls hers eyes and takes another sip of coffee.

"Yup!" She says, popping the p.

"Ugh, you're too energetic in the morning." She mutters in her mug.

"Isn't that the point of coffee though? Besiiiiides it's evening time for me." She chuckles as she rummages through the fridge for something appetizing.

"I need an espresso." Kasey groans.

"You could always drink a monster." Amber offers with a shrugs as she pulls out a carton of eggs from the fridge.

"How the hell are you still alive Amber? You're going to have a heart attack one of these days." Kasey says in defeat as she picks up the newspaper.

"We all have to die sometime Kay Kay." Amber says in amusement.

Kasey stands and places the not so neatly folded newspaper on the table. She yawns and abruptly stands. "Do you want anything from the store? Besides mangoes." She asks as she straightens her red plaid flannel top.

"Some pop-rocks pretty please." Amber says sweetly, tilting her head to the side with wide puppy eyes. "Not the pumpkin ones!" She adds as an afterthought, wrinkling her nose.

Kasey rolls her eyes with a slight chuckle as she disappears from sight.

Amber takes care of her morning chores before plopping down on the bright purple bean bag couch. Nestling in place, with her left leg dangling of the side. Stifling a yawn, she buries her head in a overstuffed purple pillow.

"Oh, Jake is coming over this afternoon." Kasey's voice rang through the living room, startling Amber. "Kay dokie." She tiredly yells through the pillow, which stifles her a bit.

Kasey pulls the pillow of Amber's face, her strawberry blonde curls cascading over her shoulders. Amber notices her pink lace top, paired with straight leg jeans. threw the pillow in her face and try to climb out of the couch fast. She threw the pillow at her back. She tumbles to the floor as her arms jellied from the laughter.

She smiles and waves as she leaves. "Don't break anything or burn down the house while I'm gone!"

"See ya and no promises!" Amber waves to her as she crawls back onto the couch. Pulling the soft black throw over my head. 'Fucking pterodactyls.' She laughs sleepily. Succumbing to sweet sleep.

Amber jolts awake with a shriek from the sudden splash of ice water on her face. Her eyes snap open looking wildly for the bastard responsible. Her sights fell on Jake, holding a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter and an empty bucket. She launches out of the indent of the bean bag couch with surprising speed. Jake practically throws the bucket at her as he flees into the kitchen.

She jogs into the kitchen, seeing him use Kasey as a meat shield. Kasey laughs as she looks at Amber. Shaking her head with a smile she steps to the side, leaving Jake open to attack. A smirk finds its way to Amber's lips as she slowly stalks towards him. A wicked smirk forms as she reaches under the table quickly to grab a supersoaker that was taped to the bottom and rips it from it's duct tape prison.

Jake stares at her in utter horror as he peels out of the kitchen, scrabbling for the door. Right on his heels She sprays his back with water. He flings open the door, hard enough to bang shut in her face. She slings it open and chases after him, shooting jets of water at him til cold water sprays him across the face as he looks back. He splutters and doubles over, his hand resting on his knees.

"You got me Amber." He manages to say between pants.

She snorts in amusement. "You're gonna have to work on your stamina." She winks.

"Ha ha ha." He straightens up.

She blows a raspberry at him before turning to go inside.

"I should have eaten your pop-rocks." He teases.

"You wouldn't." She laughs.

"Yeah, I don't feel like being disemboweled tonight." He says as he pats her shoulder.

"I don't feel like cleaning up the mess." She jabs with a bark of laughter.

"Oh yes I don't have to worry because you despise cleaning." He says in mock relief.

"Pffffft!" She pushes him lightly and grabs a towel from the bathroom closet, tossing it in his face. He snatches it out of the air and sticks his tongue out at her. She flips him off while laughing.

"Love you too!" He laughs as he goes to the kitchen.

"Asshat!" She yells in laughter as she gets another towel before she goes into the bathroom.

She locks the door behind her and hangs the towel on the rack. She turns the water on hot, strips, then pulls the clear shower curtain adorned with bloody hand prints back. She quickly on the cold water as well. Checking the temperature of the water, she steps in. She closes her eyes as the warm water cascades down her body, marveling over the fact that liquid heat is flowing over her skin, warming her. She steps back from the spray of water and wipes her eyes. She snorts as she likens that to windshield wipers. she stares down at the purple tinged water swirling over her feet and down the drain. She shampoos her hair to which she made a purple bubble beard with the foam. She quickly rinses her hair and finishes her shower.

She steps out of the tub carefully. Drying off with the warm towel quickly as the air conditioner kicks on blasting cold air down onto her. She gathers her clothes and throws them in the hamper outside of the bathroom door on her way out. She saunters to her room and drops the towel at the entrance. She puts on an over sized rainbow tie-dyed shirt and a deep purple pair of cotton shorts. She pets Slobber between the ears before leaving her room.

"Amber, better hurry up before we eat all of your pop-rocks!" Amber inhales sharply before leaping over the railing on the second floor. She lands in a heap with a loud thud. He knees throbbing seemingly with each heartbeat. She cringes as she stands and makes her way to the kitchen.

"What the hell was that? Are you okay?" Kasey demands as she looks over Amber in concern.

"Gravity still works." Amber says sheepishly as she slides the numerous packs of pop-rocks towards her.

"No way! You jumped off the second floor for pop-rocks?!" Jake laughs heartily wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Maybe." Amber says guiltily.

"Jeez Amber." Kasey shakes her head.

Amber takes a seat in the chair closest. She rakes the rest of the packets of candy towards herself and grabs a monster energy drink off the counter behind her. The can opens with a loud pop, the liquid threatening to fizz over the top. She slurps the excess with glee as she savors the flavor.

Jake gestures to Amber's forgotten sketch book, "My favorite has to be the one with the president crying in a corner wearing a party with "Aliens" over the front."

Kasey snorts and rolls her eyes, "Yeah that's our president."

"I wonder if he has a fear of squids." Amber muses out loud as she rips into a packet of strawberry flavored pop-rocks. Not too hung up over Jake looking through her sketches without permission. Kasey and Jake burst out laughing.

"He probably does now!" Jake laughs.

"He screams like a little girl." Kasey says with mirth as she sips her coffee.

Amber dumps the entire packet into her mouth, enjoying the sizzling noise and sensation. She takes a mouthful of her drink, kicking up the popping a few notches. She chews through the rocks, giggling in delight with each burst. She swallows and tears into another packet.

"Won't that make you stomach pop?" Jake asks as he looks at Amber questioningly.

Amber shrugs, simply not caring as she's done this all her life.

"No, it would take a whole lot more to make her stomach burst. She'd probably throw up before that happens." Kasey answers.

Amber digs through her pile of candy happily in search of another flavor. She gasps, her eyes widen, as grin splits her face. She thrust the packet above her head.

Kasey laughs, "I thought you might want to try a new flavor." She smiles at her friend.

Amber slides a packet across the table to Kasey, who shakes her head with a smile, passes the candy to Jake.

"Awe man, I hate green apple." He whines as he stares at the offending packet.

Amber snorts as she reaches across the table to take away the candy and hands him a strawberry flavored one instead.

"Thanks." Jake said a few octaves higher.

Amber stuck her tongue out and gestured a pack to Kasey again.

"I'm on a diet, any sugar would wreck it." Kasey says in her cup.

"There's sugar in coffee." Amber points out.

"Not if you drink it black." She says sadly.

Amber and Jake scrunch their faces, "Ew!" They say simultaneously.

"Jinx!" Jake yells as he points at Amber.

"But I don't have coke!" She says victoriously.

"Well I refuse to drink one of your heart attacks in a can." Jake gestures towards her monster.

"Blarg." Amber says as she opens yet another packet of candy in excitement at trying another flavor. 'This will totally go good with monster.' She pours the candy in her mouth, savoring the flavor before washing it down with her drink, her face wrinkled in disgust. Her mouth burns from the candy and terrible flavor. She gulps down more of her energy drink in hopes of ridding the horrid taste from her mouth.

"You ok Amber?" Kasey asks in amusement as she watches her friend try to rid herself of the obviously bad tasting candy.

Amber blinks a few times

in an attempt to clear the burning sensation in her throat. She stands abruptly and thrusts her head under the sink faucet, gulping the cool water. Though it didn't relieve the burning that now spread to her stomach. "It burns." She groans while still hunched over the sink. Kasey and Jake watch their friend warily unsure of what to do.

"Well eating all those pop-rocks with the monster isn't exactly good for you." Kasey says after a few moments of silence.

"I don't think that's it. It was that new one...it burns..." Amber chokes out that last part of her sentence. She grasps her throat and screams as she collapses. Tears flooding her cheeks, making the world a blurry mess. She curls in a ball, liquid fire flowing through her veins, her screams increasing in volume.

"Shit!" Jake yells in exasperation as he hovers over the woman.

"Oh! Oh gosh!" Kasey yells, shaking in terror.

"We have to get her to a hospital or something!" Jake yells as he lifts Amber off the floor and whisks her to his car, with Kasey at his heels.

He dumps Amber's shaking form in the front passenger seat. He rips open the driver door and dives in. The engine comes to life as he stomps on the gas pedal, the vehicle lurches forward, kicking up sand and dirt as it peels out of the driveway.

"It's going to be ok Am-Am." Kasey tries to comfort the writhing woman.

Every passing second felt like an eternity as they sped through the empty roads at break-neck speeds. Jake's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white and shaking with adrenaline.

Amber's cries dying down to soft whimpers as she presses her face against the cool glass window, her warm ragged breaths fogging it up slightly, hoping to whatever deity that this pain would end. She's sure that she's melting internally.

Ten minutes later they arrive at the hospital. Jake drives to the entrance, parks, and jumps out of the car to race over to Amber's door. He pulls her out of the vehicle, eliciting another cry from Amber, as she drops her weight. Jake scoops Amber up bridal style and rushes inside, while Kasey parks the car.

The receptionist jumps from the sudden commotion. A man rushes in with a screaming woman in his arms. She calls for a wheel chair and immediately take her through the double doors to the E.R.

"I'm Karina, can we get some information from you?" The receptionist asks as she pulls out a few forms.

"Y-yeah." Jake says as he runs his hand through his disheveled brown hair, he takes the forms with his other hand. Kasey rushes in, the car keys jingling from her belt loop.

"What is her name and date of birth?" Karina asks, her pen poised over a slip of paper.

"Amber Johnson, 11-8-95." Jake answers calmly.

"Is she going to be ok?" She asks as she wrings her hands, her eyes land on the forms in his hand.

"I hope so." He says as he takes a seat to begin filling out the paperwork.

Muffled screams could be heard, causing several people in the waiting room to turn and look in worry and concern.

Amber screams again as another wave of agony surges through her. Nurses trying in vain to restrain the woman. Another nurse comes in to aid the others. He manages to pin her left arm down, one of the other nurses quickly tethers her arm to the side. Terror overtaking her mind as she flails her other arm wildly. She smacks one of the nurses across the chest, who grabs her arm and swiftly tethers it down. They manage to get the blood pressure cuff on the squirming woman.

"UNTIE ME!" Amber yells angrily.

"This is to keep you safe. What's wrong?" The blonde nurse asks in exasperation.

"It hu-urts. Oh fuck! Everything burns!" Amber yells through clenched teeth.

"On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad-"

" Eleven!" Amber interrupts her.

The older nurse grabs an alcohol pad and wipes the crook of Amber's right elbow. Amber snaps her head to the nurse to her side as she felt the cold wet wipe touch her.

"I'm giving you a pain reliever that will help you feel a little better." She says as she goes to insert the needle in Amber's skin. She stares at the girls arm in confusion as she tries to insert the needle again. It wouldn't break the skin.

A few of the nurses gasp. The blonde nurse wrenches Amber's shirt up, revealing shiny skin. The skin resembling something akin to a diamond and spreading.

Tears flood Amber's vision as her whole body tenses. Her limbs felt as if they were dunked in liquid nitrogen, the sensation spreading to her chest and head. Her world fades black.

Almost the whole staff in the E.R. surround Amber. Unsure of what to do or who to call. All staring in shock at the sight before them.

One of the doctors break away from the small crowd and makes his way to the phone at the nurse's station. He smashes the Army's number in the phone.

"Hello, this is Mike from Henry Memorial Hospital, South Carolina. A woman was brought in bout half an hour ago screaming and now her skin..." He pauses for a moment, searching for words to describe the scene. " Like diamonds or something. We're going to quarantine her for now."

A minute later Mike shuts the glass door to Amber's room, sealing her inside, much to the confusion of the other staff.

"The Army is sending a pick up crew." Mike breaths out.

"You called the Army?!" The blonde nurse yells, balling her fists at her sides.

"We can't treat her here, Stacey! Look at her? What the hell are we going to do for her? We can't even put an IV in her!" Mike yells defensively while flailing his arms for emphasis.

Stacey huffs and leaves for the break room. The rest of the staff went back to attending the other patients with abated breath.

The people in the visibly jump as soldiers rush past the double doors. Jake and Kasey share a confused look, before getting up themselves and following the men, only to be held back by more soldiers. They give in knowing it was no use fighting.

"What's going on?" Kasey stammers.

Jake and Kasey are swept to the side as several soldiers rush out, wheeling a gurney towards the door, yelling orders. Kasey slips out and follows after.

"Amber?!" She yells at the sight of her friend. She's suddenly pulled back by Jake.

"What the fuck, Jake?!"Kasey demands as she elbows him in the gut.

"Did you see her?!" He yells, throwing his arms over his head.

Kasey bolts to the door, she slows to a stop as she watches a large helicopter take off into the clear night sky. Jake joins her side and tries to give her a comforting hug.

"You let them take her away!" Kasey growls, wrenching from his embrace.

"Maybe they can help her, Kasey! She looked like a crystal or something. What would the hospital do?" He tries to reason.

"What's the army gonna do?! Experiment on her? Did you think about that Jake!" Kasey screams, her face red, a few veins bulging in her neck. She marches inside and demands Amber's whereabouts. The receptionist shaking her head and apologizing as she tires to convince the irate woman that she didn't have the answers.

"I'll take you home Kasey." Jake says softly as he nudges her shoulder.

Kasey relents and deflates as they sullenly walk to the car. The car ride painfully silent as the both of them lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is much appreciated. :D


End file.
